Savior_of_the_Sith

A message came to an astrometrics droid in a state of hybernation, aboard a ship in storage, the Napoleon IV. *********************** R-7, come to Wayland to pick me up. I'll explain later. I am waiting here in a small trading town on the surface. Come with due haste, and no fooling around with the experimental Nav system this time, you punk. -Sahv *********************** Clearing its docking moors and exiting the city of Mos Eisley, the ship blasted off into space toward Wayland.

Nevermind.

Locke and Sahv traveled through space at light speed... Even without the Force, Sahv could feel the cold hum of the ship's engines oscillate to create the propulsion. With the Force, Sahv felt an intensity in Locke's demeanor. With Kirana in harms way, the sentiment was justified, no doubt. Pulling forward his lightsaber, Sahv began polishing the dark ends with his tunic. If there was to be a fight, he would at least look the part. Deep in his mind, however, the padawan was not nearly as optimistic. He remembered his last grave encounter. Indeed, the Dark Lord Kakuto Ryu had given him a run for his money. This time, there would be no running, Sahv promised a small portion of his mind. The ship flew ever closer to Coruscant...

Sahv wished Dashel a good trip as he departed, and turned to Locke after boarding the ship. "I believe Dashel and I have become moderately proficient in Form 1 lightsaber combat. Of course, we intend to learn much more throughout our careers as Jedi. Our skills will always be made better." Taking a seat, Sahv made sure he had all of his things before he and Locke took off. He placed a half-empty bag of marbles on the seat next to him. "Master Locke... We have heard that there is trouble about. What part are we to play in this?"

"I intend to go to her whether we take a brief stop at Mimban or not." Dashel said sternly... "Dashel. I can assure you that if you go to Mimban, it will by no means be brief. I realize that Kirana may need assistance, but we must not be too hasty. Let's see what Locke thinks of all this." Sahv put his used cup on a rubber conveyer belt. "Indeed..." Sahv said with a quiet intensity. "... there is a disturbance in the force. I feel as if a friend has been hurt. I just hope Cal is safe, and not among those killed in that disturbance you feel."

Sahv and Dashel sat in the cafe finishing up their meal as a message came over the intercom system. "Attention all Alliance personnel, report to your duty stations immediately." The voice was quick yet calmed. Turning on a viewer nearby, Sahv and Dashel could see what had happened. Apparently an Imperial fleet had appeared and left suddenly. "Dashel, something is up. The Empire has obviously just tried to distract the Alliance contingent here on Mon Calamari. There must be some activity elsewhere."

"I see what you mean, Dashel, and I agree that it is wiser to look at a journey over a destination. It's just that, sometimes I can lose sight of the panoramic view of life... as if I have tunnel vision, only able to see my goal at the time." Sahv tood a drink of his Calamarian hydro juice. "I wonder how Kirana is doing... and it's been some time since we've heard from Locke."

Sahv had always attempted to not offend Dashel by letting him know that his eating habits were a bit... unconventional. Indeed, the two came from different cultures. "Dashel, we are very different, you and I, and yet we have been brought together to train in the Force, and in that way and many others are very similar. It really has been a surreal experience for me, meeting new people, training under various masters, taking advice from older and wiser Jedi... I guess I never really got out much when I lived on Agamar. There, I was but an errand boy for my late uncle, and I rarely socialized. Of course, there's no big problem with that, right? I mean, everybody has a different personality. It just seems strange how, despite people's differences, there remain certain points of commonality, points to bring people from across the galaxy to participate in something greater than themselves. We are but instruments of that bigger picture, just as the lightsaber becomes an instrument of our physical body." Sahv nodded to the waiter as he brought him a steak. Looking across, he was a bit grossed out by Dashel's eating his meat raw. "In any event... am I making any sense? What are your thoughts on this and our position in the universe?"

Sahv walked to a dining area near the hangar bay. Sitting down, he ordered a meal from a native waitress. "Dashel, it has been said that there is trouble brewing in the galaxy. We should enjoy a nice meal while we can; we do not know when this opportunity will come again..."

As the small ball of metal approached Dashel at high speed, Sahv did not know whether Dashel knew yet from which direction it was approaching. However, Sahv knew that Dashel's acute visual sense would be able to serve him form III training. Watching Dashel, Sahv sat down again to rest. Perhaps Dashel would join him for a meal.

Sahv sent his last two marbles flying. With the first, he sent it straight toward Dashel at near-light speed. A minute later, it had been adequately neutralized. With the second, Sahv sent it toward Dashel but had it fly around Dashel several times. "You must be able to deflect laser shots; you will not know which direction they will come from." Ten seconds later, the marble began its approach from an unknown direction...

Sahv whispered to himself... a very effective use of defensive space... Without delay, Sahv send another set of marbles, this time 4, headed straight for Dashel. At the same speed, these four would present only a slightly larger challenge...

Two marbles went flying through the air toward Dashel. Sahv had sent them spinning, so that they would have some momentum after his Force push had stopped effecting them...

Sahv had to guage which marbles represented the bigger threat. Dashel's throw seemed to have more of a thrust in it than the gravity that propelled the two marbles falling toward Sahv's head. Waiting until the right moment, Sahv swung his lightsaber in a downward motion to incinerate the marble aimed at his knees. A split second later, he did the same to the two falling. Lifting up his saber, he lightly touched each marble, effectively disolving the metal into its soft glow. "Dashel, now let me send some at you." Pulling forth 8 marbles from a bag near Dashel, Sahv positioned himself 30 feet from his fellow padawan. "Ready, Dashel?" Sahv asked... He sent two marbles hurling toward the triani at a fast pace. One was ahead of the other, to allow Dashel to be able to deflect both in a timely manner.

Sahv stood facing the outcroping from which the beautiful Mon Calamari ocean scene could be seen. Sensing the marbles racing toward him, he reacted quickly, but only at the last minute. In a flash of his black jumpsuit he twirled around to meet his attacking marbles. Igniting his saber on the way around, he curled it up to meet the first, effectively disolving it in the wake of the lightsaber's beam. Meeting the other a split second later, Sahv moved his saber in a batting motion, crossing it's path with that of the small metal ball. Sahv sensed a piece of the marble fly away, deflected by the blue beam of his saber. "Dashel, send another volley..."

"Yes, Dashel, that sounds like a good idea." Sahv got a drink of water before getting up to rejoin Dashel in rehearsing lightsaber techniques. "I have an idea..." Sahv stated, picking up his saber. "I will stand with my back to you, and you can force levitate an object toward me, at a moderate speed. Not too fast, for now. I will react to the object with my lightsaber. We already know our reflexes are good; this will test our reflexes with the lightsaber as an extension." "Dashel, begin when you are ready, if you will." Sahv walked 10 paces away from Dashel, finally keeping his lightsaber unignited as he awaited some movement from behind...

"I understand, Dashel. We will wait for Locke's command before we practice sparing." Sahv decided to take a rest, and sat down nearby to watch Dashel and Locke each practice their moves. He noticed how the two moved their lightsaber from target zone to target zone so fluidly. Form I was beginning to make sense to him... a simple yet effective use of the lightsaber.

Sahv walked over to where Dashel had been practicing for half an hour. "Dashel, let us rehearse our lightsaber tactics with each other. Of course, let's go very slow. I've seen what this thing can do to metal; I have no doubt this weapon could easily take off an arm if we are not careful." Sahv ignited his lightsaber, gripping it tightly with both hands. "I'll start a simple swing toward your left arm target zone... and you offer the appropriate defense." Very slowly, Sahv moved his blue blade toward Dashel's left side, not yet knowing the feel that came from two sabers interacting with each other...

Dodging an invisible enemy, Sahv counterstruck at his torso, pretending to gain a kill. Again he struck forward, at what he imagined to be the central target zone: the torso. A thought came to mind during Sahv's practicing which he felt a bit of guilt at having conjured... should the head be a possible striking area? ... be a goal, a prized target zone? Surely a hit there would kill a combatant. This to Sahv, made him realize just how deadly this training was. He wasn't learning the Force... he was learning deadly Force. Quieting his mind and refocusing, he began to repeat the move of the lightsaber which aimed at the lower parts of the body. He would cover each area in time...

Sahv took Dashel's words to heart, and knew that one day they would be in battle together. Moving off to the side, Sahv began practice on form I. Maneuvering his lightsaber, he imagined a body ahead, and saw on it the target zones that Locke had described. Imagining an arm, Sahv reached his lightsaber around to tap it, trying to think ahead to where he would need to attack or from which direction he would need to defend. He swung his saber down to the left, in anticipation of a counterattack from the area of the left leg target zone. Roleplaying against an invisible partner, Sahv bounced his lightsaber from target zone to zone, learning each one and trying to get a sense of which directoin each one led his lightsaber to become vulnerable from.

Sahv reviewed each plan in his mind, conscious of the meaning his emphasized style would offer him in his quest for the Force. Form IV is defensive, and Form VII would be particularly handy... it takes time however, and I don't believe that fits my personality. "Master, I believe I am led to become proficient in Form II. I feel as if I cannot wage war upon innocents, given my obvious advantage due to knowing the Force, and that the true threat I will face in my time will be Force users." Sahv paused, trying to catch Locke's opinion of his statement. "And since that style is built from the basic one, let us begin with Form I. I will do my best toward the second school of swordsmanship, that which emphasizes the duel between two blades, a dance of fates." Sahv hoped his words had not seemed too melodramatic...

Shav held out his saber, ignited and humming mildly. ...and extension of my body... he thought as he stared ahead at the glowing blade. Closing his eyes, he looked for that manner of vision he'd seen twice before at the Jedi Academy on Coruscant. Calming his spirit, he began to see again, though not with his eyes. Twisting in a complex intermingling of light and shade, he saw his arm. It looked longer than usual at first, but then it made sense. He was seeing his lightsaber as an extension of his arm. He looked down to see the twinkling shape of his lower body, his legs in the form of a thousand orbiting stars. His right arm, holding the lightsaber, looked as one. In front of him, his master could be seen in the same fasion, his outline looking on... Eyes still closed, Sahv swung the lightsaber back and around to hold it above his head in a pouncing position. The move had seemed easier than before, and now that he had become more in tune with his instrument, his actions seemed all the more harmonious.

((It's all good; sign me up [but not without wicked lightsaber skillz{ }])) Sahv sat down near where his master had been meditating. ...I sense a disturbance in the force. Locke's words had a great intensity. "How.. how can you sense this..." Sahv did not expect an answer, as most of his questions were redundant and would be solved in time... "I see. I will prepare, then, if it is combat that I will participate in." Sahv pulled his lightsaber from his belt with the Force, almost without thinking... as if his saber had acted alone. Yet it was in his tight grip now and would yield to Sahv's swordmanship. Smiling, Sahv ignited it through the Force, appreciating the visual appeal that the blue hue gave off.

"Do you intend to become fluent in the Jedi healing arts? I have heard that there is one who specializes in this area, a woman." Sahv took a sip of his drink. "The Jedi are keepers of the peace, are they not? Unfortunately this entails the need to be heavy-handed at times, hence our study of defensive and offensive tactics. Besides that role, healing is not necessarily against the Jedi way, contradictory though it may be to fighting with a lightsaber." Sahv hoped that his statement had not seemed too pompous and pretentious, given his position in the order: that of a mere padawan.

Rod Dor came on the air, offering a special report. "Good day, I'm Rod Dor and this is..." A fanciful trumpet fanfare ignited... "... a special report." "We go now to our correspondent on Corellia, El-Are. El-Are, what can you tell us at this point?" "Well Rod, things have taken a turn for the worse here at the industrial complex of ISTS Corellia, as Imperial terrorists have claimed responsibility for the deadly mutilations of workers here. Late yesterday, a man clad in black entered the worker's break room in section 35, and kidnapped 4 upper-echelon employees of Nepharius Fontaine. This all happened on the eve of a peaceful cooperation on the part of Dr. Fontaine, and in a fit of irony, Fontaine himself has shut down all operations in his plants until the situation is under control. A sense of panic is here among the workers, and Dr. Fontaine himself has placed himself under heavy guard; he fears that terrorists sympathetic to the Empire have taken aim at his business practices, in particular his dealings with the Alliance." "And there you have it." Dor's voice and image came on. "We will keep you updated on any developments in this story..."